Greetings once again, Dear Readers.
A couple of days ago, I took the MCU to task for the substantial lack of muscle in their latest wide release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (BP:W(t)F, for short), specifically noting Namor’s and Shuri’s decidedly unimpressive physical presences, and how their apparent weakness weakened the movie overall. I also suggested that having bulky, musclebound heroes might inspire us to bigger and better things ourselves. It seemed a stretch when I wrote it and still does, so I wanted to flesh out my argument a bit.
The muscular appearance of superheroes is not merely a superficial attribute. A muscular physique projects strength, power, and stamina. It suggests, at the very least, that the hero possesses the physical ability to right wrongs, to stop those with nefarious schemes. They are the rough men who stand ready in the night to visit violence on those would harm the innocent. I am always reassured when I see police officers on patrol who are built like Mack trucks. If someone tries to pull anything around those men, those officers are fully capable of physically stopping the threat (this is why sending female police officers out on patrol is a bad idea in general, but that’s a topic for another day). I’m glad for the big, burly cops walking the beat.
Sheer brute force, however, is not enough. Lord Acton’s quote is almost a cliche now, but it is true nonetheless. Strength and power are easily abused and are nothing without equal strength of character and, even more important, a moral compass fixed on true North. This is why Superman’s tutelage at the loving hands of Ma and Pa Kent was so important. There’s a reason that his creators placed him in the American heartland, far from the sprawling, hedonistic cities. Superman was instilled with the values that made America one of the greatest nations in human history. Clark Kent learned the value of hard work and tilling the soil. He learned to love America and her people, and to love justice and truth. His love for humanity extends far beyond the borders of our land, but he prizes America above all other nations, as he should.
Just as Superman’s love for mankind extends beyond his homeland, the importance of character and a moral compass extends beyond Superman. Bruce Wayne could have been just another spoiled trust-fund kid, but the tragedy of his parent’s death shaped his character and fixed his moral compass forever. Batman learned to despise crime in general and murder in specific, and to crave justice for all. It’s the same with the murder of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. Spiderman was on the road to a life of greed and selfish gain. His uncle’s death taught him that he had a responsibility to use his new powers for something more than self-promotion (with great power comes, well, you know the rest). I could cite many more examples. Captain America, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Thor, and many more, all possessed strength of character and a firmly fixed moral compass. These qualities are what truly made them heroic, and what set them apart from their super-powered foes*(see below for more on this).
But you can’t see their character, except through their actions. And without their physical strength, there is no action. Without his god-like strength and the aid of Mjolnir, Thor cannot fight and defeat Fing Fang Foom. All of this is why their appearance matters. The super-powered exterior, then, becomes a means by which to project, not just the hero’s physical strength, but the strength of his character and morals. Which brings me back to what started this in the first place; the MCU’s Namor and Shuri simply don’t measure up. They lack the physical strength that serves as an apt metaphor for their moral fiber and strength of character (which is not a problem you’ll encounter with any of BAM! Comix heroes, by the way. They look the part. And always will). And these are all characteristics and qualities that we should eagerly desire. It is good to be as physically fit as we can be given our age and stage of life. It is better to have strength of character, and better still to have good morals and live by them. And if comic book superheroes can point us in that direction, then by all means, let’s have more.
Having said that, there is a time and place for comic book superheroes. There also comes a time when we should move on from Captain America and embrace Hector, Odysseus, and Aeneas. We don’t need to lose our love for Batman or Spiderman, but we should also know and love King Arther, Jean Valjean, Mr. Knightly, and Mr. Darcy. The Western canon is thousands of years old and filled with heroes and heroines who can show us the way, pointing us, perhaps, to the greatest hero of all time, who fought the most desperate battle of all time against the greatest foe of all time, and won. Unlike the MCU’s fictional Infinity War, the fate of all mankind truly did once hang in the balance. But a hero came, just in the nick of time. A hero whose birth we will celebrate in just a few short weeks. The one true hero, of whom all fictional heroes are but the dimmest reflections. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back with more soon.
*This is why superhero origins are so important and are not to be trifled with. The origin stories tell us why these powerful men and women use their strength in the service of good. Retconning the origins alters the critically important why and leads us to the morally compromised, semi-psychotic heroes that increasingly populate the superhero pantheon of today. Unfortunately, we live in a time when, instead of looking up at our heroes and wanting to be like them, many are frightened of and intimidated by them. Many are envious of their strength, skill, and intelligence, but rather than seek to emulate the heroes, they want to emasculate them and cut them down to size. Rather than become like the heroes, they want the heroes to be like them, with all of their weaknesses and insecurities. Which means they’re not really heroes at all, just super-powered crybabies.
Which is not a problem you’ll encounter with any of BAM! Comix heroes. They act the part. And always will.
Excellent points, today’s cultural icons are being skewed to a postmodern, self validating facsimile of what people want to see, rather than what they need to see. To mainstream media, the traditional hero’s journey requires too much time and effort, while emphasizing the necessity for individual growth and resilience built towards inner and outer strength. America has become the beacon of hope for professional victims and privileged, ignorant crybabies who’d rather bend the world around them to their “identities” and “personal truths.” Mark Normand said it best when he talked about how the US finally has more people dying from obesity than starvation. You’d think that means we’ve finally done it, but pursuing comforts will always lead to unveiling more problems. Pursuing resilience nets resilience, and pursuing inner and outer strength nets a healthy mind and healthy body. And heaven forbid anyone pursue a spiritual strength or rely on a Creator or Savior in any sense, because the mainstream HAS to sell the self as the ultimate deity on a daily basis in order for them to stay remotely relevant. Sorry for the intermittent sarcasm, I hope it translates through text accurately.
Outstanding comment. Very well said. And yes, your sarcasm is coming through loud and clear.
Only a nation as wealthy as our own could afford people so much leisure time to be self-deluded and lazy. Only capitalism is able to generate so much wealth that companies can afford to spend vast amounts of money on entire departments devoted to nothing more than Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, which do nothing to generate revenue for those companies. And only nations, companies, and people with so much wealth can afford to ignore the God who made them. And it to our collective peril that we ignore Him.
Thanks for the comments and all the hard work!
Stories are important. The Bible is full of stories on purpose. Because in tales we see more clearly than in our day-to-day dealings. Our own view is so close that we see what God sees as black and white as grey. But characters are more archetypal and we are able to more readily accept good and evil and what we ought to do when faced with each. We see what ideals are and are shown examples of what we do or don’t want to be.
The Bible tells us specifically that we aren’t perfect. That we must fight against our natures, that we have an enemy who seeks to devour us and that, even at our best, we still need God, because we will never be enough. We were never meant to be.
The current world is telling us, more and more, that we’re enough just as we are. It started with ‘tiny’ character flaws we were told to find endearing, then larger ones, each time a lie that we knew to be untrue. Now, we’re being told to reject even our own eyes. ‘No, there’s nothing inherently better about being fit or good-looking. Don’t bother trying.’
If we don’t try, we won’t fail. If we don’t fail, we won’t realize that we need help. If we don’t know we need help, will we ever seek the Savior? The evil one certainly knows what he is about in his machinations.
Well said. I can’t possibly add more to this, so I won’t even try! 🙂
Thank you for the comment!